The New Zealand Rugby Union will make it compulsory for coaches and referees of junior rugby to undergo police checks this season.

The union made the announcement at the launch of its $16.5 million, three-year community plan in Auckland on Wednesday.

“We’re … implementing mandatory police vetting for all Small Blacks coaches,” Brent Anderson, general manager community rugby and provincial unions, said.

The union’s Small Blacks program covers those aged under 13 and it says referees will also need to be vetted.

It says the safety and welfare of children and young people involved in rugby is paramount.

In addition to the police checks to be brought in this year, the union is also encouraging better sideline behaviour after a number of ugly incidents in recent years, including a charter and code of conduct for clubs and schools.

The union says the number of teenagers playing rugby is in decline and it wants to address that.